The great news is that you don’t have to go out and buy a set of solar panels for your house to contribute to more sustainable environments. In fact, there are many activities that you can start doing as soon as today so that you and your household can start conserving resources, energy and be more environmentally conscious. Start with a home energy audit for an affordable, customized approach to saving energy and lowering utility bills.
1) Use Your Dishwasher Instead of Hand Washing
Have you ever heard from your parents, grandparents or friends that you can save water by hand-washing your dishes? Contrary to popular belief, using a dishwasher conserves much more water than hand-washing your dishes. Leaving the sink running while you are hand-washing wastes a lot of water, but thankfully, using your dishwasher saves water and allows you to clean lots of dishes at once.
2) Use CFL Light Bulbs
One excellent and inexpensive way to start saving energy is to change out your old light bulbs for energy efficient ones. You can buy CFL light bulbs just about anywhere, and they only take a few minutes to change them out for the old light bulbs that you have. Plus, you will be saving some money on your electric bill, and these light bulbs tend to last longer than your traditional filament bulbs.
3) Buy Energy Efficient Appliances
If you don’t already have energy efficient appliances in your home, that is another excellent way to save energy and money. Energy Star certified appliances use a fraction of the energy that your traditional appliances do, so they will help you contribute to a more sustainable environment and help you save money.
4) Seal the Cracks in Your Home
Another simple way to save energy is to make sure that your home is insulated. You can hire an expert to check for air leaks in your homes and have them seal them so that you aren’t wasting money on heating and cooling your home.
5) Get a Smart Thermostat
Getting a smart thermostat is an excellent and affordable way to save you money. With a smart thermostat, you can schedule for heating and cooling that will help you save energy. Great ways to do this are to minimize heating and cooling when you are out of the house at work.
6) Water Bottles, Not Bottled Water
Millions of water bottles are bought and used every day which is terrible for the environment. Instead of contributing to that problem, get a filter for your sink and fill up a reusable water bottle at home. That will significantly help reduce the plastic waste that is created from water bottles every day.
7) Reuse and Recycle Any Time You Can
Make sure that you reuse and recycle anywhere that you can. This concept can be applied to anything from being more conscious about recycling plastic and paper products at home, to reusing things that you own in creative ways. Instead of throwing your clothes away, take them to Goodwill, or you can even see if your friends want them.
8) Walk or Ride a Bike
Commuting and burning fuel is tough on the environment and the earth’s atmosphere. You can help preserve our planet by walking and biking. Try taking your bike to work or walking to the nearest grocery store the next time that you need to restock your kitchen. It’s not only a great way to sustain the environment, but it’s also a great way to burn a couple of hundred extra calories by staying active.
9) Take Public Transportation or Carpool
Taking public transportation or carpooling is an excellent way to help the environment. If you live in a congested city, go online to see what the options and routes are for public transportation to get you to work, school, the store and anywhere else that you go regularly. Another great way to help the environment is to carpool. Check in to see if you have any coworkers in your area who would want to carpool to work in the morning.
10) Conserve Water
In general, the more you conserve water, the better. You can do this in any way from installing low-flow shower heads and faucets in your home to trying to take faster showers. Leave the sink running as little as possible, and all of those efforts will go a long way.
Thank you for reading our blog! How can we help you? Contact us today.
